USA TODAY International Edition
Cuomo defiant as more critics speak out
ALBANY, N. Y. – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo defiantly refused calls for his resignation Sunday as the two most powerful state lawmakers suggested he should at least consider stepping down amid dual scandals that have engulfed his administration.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart- Cousins, D- Yonkers, called for the Democratic governor’s resignation Sunday afternoon, marking a significant escalation in the effort by some to convince Cuomo to quit after five women publicly accused him of inappropriate behavior and his administration withheld the true COVID- 19 death toll in nursing homes for months.
Her statement was quickly followed up by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D- Bronx, who stopped just short of saying Cuomo should quit, but said he should “seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York.”
Heastie and Stewart- Cousins’ statements Sunday put Cuomo in even more political peril than he was already facing and make clear he has lost the support of the legislative leaders, with whom the governor must negotiate a $ 192 billion state budget agreement over the next three weeks.
It also seems to bolster the possibility of impeachment: Any measure impeaching Cuomo would require a majority vote in the state Assembly, which would require Heastie’s blessing. The impeachment trial would then be heard by the state Senate and Court of Appeals, though Stewart- Cousins herself would not be part of the court.
Cuomo made clear Sunday he has no intention of stepping down, seemingly responding to the lawmakers’ statements before they were publicly released.
On a hastily scheduled conference call with reporters earlier in the afternoon, Cuomo suggested it would be “anti- democratic” for him to resign before an investigation overseen by state Attorney General Letitia James is complete.
“I’m not going to resign because of allegations,” Cuomo said. “The premise of resigning because of allegations is actually anti- democratic.“
Later in the call, he was more defiant: “There is no way I resign.”
James, the attorney general, will soon select an attorney to lead an investigation into the harassment claims against Cuomo, with her office sending the governor a letter on March 1 notifying his office of its duties to retain documents and correspondence related to the inquiry.
The investigation is focused on accusations of sexual harassment by multiple women, including former aides.
Cuomo also IS facing extensive criticism for his administration’s decision to withhold the number of nursing home residents who died of COVID- 19 in hospitals, instead choosing to release only those who died in the homes themselves.
The decision obscured the true nursing home death toll for months, with his top aide Melissa DeRosa conceding in a private meeting the administration “froze” in part because they were concerned President Donald Trump’s administration could use it against them.
The latest harassment and inappropriate behavior accusations against Cuomo came Saturday, when The Wall Street Journal published claims by Ana Liss, who said the governor called her “sweetheart,” once kissed her hand and asked whether she had a boyfriend when she worked in the governor’s office from 2013 to 2015. Liss now works for Monroe County.